Mercury Retrograde is almost over. I generally consider myself agnostic on Astrology (at least the stuff you see in the papers) but I always pay attention to this thrice-yearly (four times this year, God help us) phenomenon.
Avatar is cleaning up at the box office and engendering controversy among political and religious pressure groups. But it's not James Cameron's first foray into the memes of alien identity and interplanetary struggle. In the long run it may not even be the most revealing.
One of my first exposures to conspiracy theory were the leaflets handed out by Tony Alamo's (born Bernie Lazar Hoffman) minions back in the 80s. I had seen similar material here and there drifting into my old church- apocalyptic conspiracy stuff from people like Hal Lindsey that would show up in bundles of tracts from time to time.